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Tuesday, January 29, 2019

Lose yourself in Pam Jenoff's latest novel....and we have one to give away!

We're so pleased to have Pam Jenoff at CLC today to celebrate the publication of her latest novel, The Lost Girls of Paris (reviewed by Melissa A). Pam is really sweet and genuine. Melissa A has met her in person twice and both times were memorable. She is here today to talk about her latest novel and share some other fun information about herself. Thanks to Pam, one lucky reader has a chance to win The Lost Girls of Paris!

At book signing in July, 2017

Pam Jenoff was born in Maryland and raised outside Philadelphia. She attended George Washington University in Washington, D.C., and Cambridge University in England.Upon receiving her master’s in history from Cambridge, she accepted an appointment as Special Assistant to the Secretary of the Army. The position provided a unique opportunity to witness and participate in operations at the most senior levels of government, including helping the families of the Pan Am Flight 103 victims secure their memorial at Arlington National Cemetery, observing recovery efforts at the site of the Oklahoma City bombing and attending ceremonies to commemorate the fiftieth anniversary of World War II at sites such as Bastogne and Corregidor.

Following her work at the Pentagon, Pam moved to the State Department. In 1996 she was assigned to the U.S. Consulate in Krakow, Poland. It was during this period that Pam developed her expertise in Polish-Jewish relations and the Holocaust. Working on matters such as preservation of Auschwitz and the restitution of Jewish property in Poland, Pam developed close relations with the surviving Jewish community. Pam left the Foreign Service in 1998 to attend law school and graduated from the University of Pennsylvania. She worked for several years as a labor and employment attorney both at a firm and in-house in Philadelphia and now teaches law school at Rutgers.Pam is the author of The Kommandant's Girl, which was an international bestseller and nominated for a Quill award, as well as The Winter Guest, The Diplomat's Wife, The Ambassador’s Daughter, Almost Home, A Hidden Affair, The Things We Cherished, and most recently, The Orphan's Tale. She also authored a short story in the anthology Grand Central: Original Postwar Stories of Love and Reunion. Pam lives outside Philadelphia with her husband and three children. (Bio adapted from Pam's website.)Visit Pam online:Website * Facebook * Twitter * Instagram

Synopsis:1946, ManhattanOne morning while passing through Grand Central Terminal on her way to work, Grace Healey finds an abandoned suitcase tucked beneath a bench. Unable to resist her own curiosity, Grace opens the suitcase, where she discovers a dozen photographs—each of a different woman. In a moment of impulse, Grace takes the photographs and quickly leaves the station.Grace soon learns that the suitcase belonged to a woman named Eleanor Trigg, leader of a network of female secret agents who were deployed out of London during the war. Twelve of these women were sent to Occupied Europe as couriers and radio operators to aid the resistance, but they never returned home, their fates a mystery. Setting out to learn the truth behind the women in the photographs, Grace finds herself drawn to a young mother turned agent named Marie, whose daring mission overseas reveals a remarkable story of friendship, valor and betrayal.Vividly rendered and inspired by true events, New York Times bestselling author Pam Jenoff shines a light on the incredible heroics of the brave women of the war and weaves a mesmerizing tale of courage, sisterhood and the great strength of women to survive in the hardest of circumstances. (Courtesy of Amazon.)

What is something interesting you learned while doing research for The Lost Girls of Paris?
I was struck by the scope and magnitude of the missions undertaken by the women who served Britain’s Special Operations Executive, without recognition or acclaim. Also, I was surprised by the ways in which the girls may have been betrayed.

With which character in The Lost Girls of Paris do you feel the most connected?
I connect with each of the women different. I identify with Grace and the way she is trying to reinvent herself and figure out what comes next. I relate to Eleanor and the ways in which she doesn’t quite fit in with her world (I do now; but I have felt that way in the past.) And I understand Marie’s struggles to overcome her fears and her struggles to do what is right for her daughter and herself.

If The Lost Girls of Paris were made into a movie, who would play the leading roles?
So the great news is that The Lost Girls of Paris has been optioned for film and may well be made into a movie. The bad news is I am terrible at hypothetical casting. I have always wanted to shoehorn Bradley Cooper into something, but that’s as far as it goes. So please write to me with your casting suggestions.

What was your favorite book when you were growing up?
Too many to name! I read the Betsy-Tacy series by Maud Hart Lovelace, All of A Kind Family, Judy Blume, Beverly Clearly, Paula Danziger, the works! Young adult is still my favorite category of books. Adult authors are popular but kids authors are deities! I would write them myself but I don’t have the voice.

What is the most unusual or bizarre thing that has happened to you while on a book tour?
I am going to cheat here and talk about the most unusual thing that is going to happen: I am going to Key West to visit Judy Blume’s bookstore on my book tour! When my family and I were on vacation last summer, we walked into her bookstore and met her and it was one of the greatest moments of my life. She was so incredibly nice and invited me to come back on book tour. I can’t wait!

What is your favorite comfort food?
Whole wheat pasta with green pesto. I discovered it when I was in grad school in England and pretty much subsisted on it for most of my twenties. Now it is an occasional treat.

Thanks to Pam for visiting with us and sharing her book with our readers.

How to win: Use Rafflecopter to enter the giveaway. If you have any questions, feel free to contact us. If you have trouble using Rafflecopter on our blog, enter the giveaway here.

I generally steer clear of dangerous and risky activities. When I was in college, I did go snow camping. I really didn't have proper boots. My feet were so cold. Luckily, I didn't get frostbites. Also, when I lived on campus, I swam regularly and was the only one swimming. I always advised my children to never swim alone.

When I was 19, I decided to move to another state 12 hours away from where I was living with my parents. I had a job, but not much in the way of a place to live or anything else. It all worked out in the end, and it was a great experience. As a parent, I get why my parents were concerned about my decision back then!

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